Deadly Consequences
by NicknHotchfan
Summary: Jess is missing. One person make a mistake.
1. Chapter 1-Meeting Lucille and her men

Lucille and her men ride into town, looking around to see if there are any dark-haired men around in town but couldn't find anyone who the description that she was seeking. Choosing to leave town, while they were riding out, unknown to them, Jess Harper walked out of the sheriff's office and got on his horse and left Laramie. He had to get back to the ranch so that his partner, Slim Sherman, wouldn't get mad at him for being late. Slim had to leave on the afternoon stagecoach to go to Denver, Colorado, to see about the horses that were needed for the stage line. It would be up to Jess to take care of the ranch while Slim was away.

Lucille and her men continued to ride farther out of town until they saw the sign stating that they had reached the Sherman Ranch and Relay Station. They opened the gate was there and to not around suspicion, they closed it after they had entered. They rode onward until they reached the top of a hill overlooking the ranch house, and then they get off their horses.

"Chad, go behind the rock and watch for the dark-haired man." Lucille directed one of her men.

Chad nodded. He went behind the rock and waited for the dark-haired man lives in the house to arrive.

"Lucille, can I asked you some questions if you don't mind?" Steve, her other companion prompted.

"Sure I don't mind," Lucille answered.

"Why are you going after the dark-haired man?" Steve asked, wanting to understand. "You have plenty of men already in prison."

"I want revenge against my uncle Joe. I know I already got plenty of them there," Lucille replied. "Three men are missing and I don't know what happened to them?"

"Why do you want revenge against your uncle Joe?" Steve asked farther. "What did he do to you to make you act this way toward him?"

"He abused me, beating me repeatedly since I was seven years old," Lucile explained with sadness of the memories. "And he kept me isolated in the house until I turn fifteen years when I got the chance I ran away from home and have never gone back there since.

"You know that every man that has dark-colored hair some have different colored eyes."

"I know. I don't care what color eyes they have."

"What color were your uncle's eyes?" Steve asked.

"I don't know I don't pay attention to his eyes," Lucille harshly. "I was too angry at him to care."

"What happened to your parents if you don't mind my asking?"

"I don't know. It was a wagon accident," Lucille said. "Something went wrong with the axil or so I was told."

"I got one more question to ask you?"

"Sure, go ahead," Lucille nodded.

"Before you came out west, where did you and your parents use to live?" Steve asked.

"My parents and I use to live in Chicago, Illinois," Lucille explained. "We were moving to California so that my dad can find a job there because he was let go from his old job."

"What kind of job did he do?"

"He writes for a newspaper," Lucille told him.

"I overheard my parents talking until I was caught. Before they made me go to bed and told me, "You didn't hear anything."

Just then, Chad walked back to Lucille when he saw a dark-haired man ride up to the Sherman ranch house.

"What did you see, Chad?" Lucille asked, eagerly.

"I saw the dark-haired that rode up to Sherman's place," Chad replied.

"Perfect, get back behind the rock to see what he does next."

"Yes, ma'am." He went back to the rock and waited.

Lucille hopes her plan would go perfectly, but what she doesn't know is that her uncle had been dead for four months. Steve and Chad wondered if they were doing the right thing in helping Lucille to get revenge and they hoped their boss, Matty, didn't find out what they did.


	2. Chapter 2-Meeting and Business

Here is chapter 2. New chapter 3 is coming.

Slim watched Jess ride up to the ranch, got off his horse and walked up to him.

"Howdy, pard," Jess said.

"Don't you howdy me!" Slim yelled. "Where the heck have you been?"

"I checked the fences, the stock and went to Laramie to talk to Mort Corey to see if he needed any help." Jess gave him an angry look. "What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

"Yes, you do. You sound like you slept on the wrong side of the bed or something..." He never got the word out because he was on the ground when Slim hit in the face.

Daisy gasped and put her hand on her mouth as she couldn't believe Slim had hit him. The eastbound stagecoach Robert, and Scott, the shotgun shared similar expressions.

Jess sadly looked up at Slim then he got up and put his head down. Slim reached out and puts his hands on Jess's arms, but Jess took a step away from him and then Slim puts his hand down.

"I can't go to Denver and look at the horses," Slim explained. "I now have to go to Casper for a meeting and you have to take my place in Denver."

Jess nodded, saying nothing to Slim, and he walked away heading towards the waiting stagecoach. He walked up to Daisy and took the coat and saddlebags that she offered and said, "I'm sorry, Daisy." He then got in the stagecoach and left the relay station.

Slim turns with his head resting on his arms on the fence.

Daisy walked up to Slim to give him the riot act. "How could you do that to Jess?"

"I know and It's his fault it's my boss's fault, he waits 'till the last minutes to telegram me this morning," Slim answered. "I'm the one walking him up early in the morning to check the fences, and the stocks, and then sending him onto Laramie to talk to Mort."

A few minutes later, they northbound stagecoach has arrived and two men stepped off the coach. Before Slim walked over to switch teams, Daisy paused him and said, "Jess will forgive you when he gets back."

"I don't think he ever will. I'm afraid I angered him," Slim replied. "I better change the team."

"I'll go get your bags."

Slim nodded and walked over to the stagecoach to help the driver, Mose, and Kyle, the shotgun and Daisy went into the house grabbed his bags and then walked out.

"Don't worry about the stagecoach teams while I'm away," Slim told Daisy. "I asked Ben and the Dixon brothers to help with the ranch. Mike will do his chores like he always does."

"Thank you. What about Jess?" Daisy asked.

"He will be back in about a week before I get home," Slim answered. "I will apologize to him when I get home and I'll make it up to him if I have to do it for the rest of my life."

"All right, Slim, be careful."

"I will."

*Back at the hill.*

Chad couldn't believe the tall man hit the dark-haired man. He went to Lucille to tell her.

"What did you see?" Lucille asked.

"I can't believe it," Chad replied. "The tall man slugged the dark-haired man. The stagecoach just left a few minutes ago."

"Okay, let's go," Lucille ordered. "I wonder why he hit him for?"

"I don't know."

They got on their horses and rode down the hill and left Sherman's place quietly to head towards Cheyenne, they needed to there very quickly before they leave.

*Meanwhile in Cheyenne.*

Unkown to Lucille that he'd left the prisoners, Marty had arrived in Cheyenne. He will be back to prison before she and her men have to suspicious him. She didn't know that he was the one that killed three men and her parents several years earlier. He didn't mean to kill Lucille's mother. He was only hired by the newspaper's boss to kill her father, not her mother, to keep the boss from potentially talking, Marty had killed him and then left there to go fix the axel on the wagon to make it look like an accident. He knew she was now after dark-haired men, but he didn't know why, but in truth, he also didn't care.

Marty walked to the livery stable and saw a dark-haired blacksmith, he sneaks up behind him and then put a gun to his head.

"When the stagecoach gets here if any one of them asks that they need anything," Marty threatened. "I want you to give it to him. If you don't, I'll kill you, got it?"

The blacksmith nodded, although he didn't know that Marty planned on killing hin anyway as soon as the incoming stagecoach will leave.

Outside Cheyenne.*

The stagecoach carrying three people and including Jess almost to Cheyenne and the driver needs a new bolt for the stagecoach before they can continue onto Denver, not knowing the danger lurking inside the livery stable.


	3. Chapter 3-Accident, killed,& disappear

Guests, I got a beta who helping me.

A few minutes later, the stagecoach arrived in Cheyenne, making its way to the livery stable. Don, the blacksmith, walked out of the livery stable and watched as a stagecoach rolled to stop in front of him. Robert and Scott stepped down from the coach, the driver walking over to the blacksmith.

"How can I help you, sir?" Don asked.

"Do you got another bolt?" Robert asked, pointing at the coach. "Ours is about finished."

"Yes, I will go you a good one." Don walked back to the livery stable.

"Thanks."

Don saw Marty working on something in the corner and as he walked up, he saw Marty was trimming the bolt. Marty handed the bolt to Don and remembering the man's threat. Don walked out of the livery and gave the bad bolt to the driver. While they were working on the coach, two of the passengers, Lilly and Richard, wait in the stagecoach couldn't help but look over at the third passenger, a young man, as his face showed his sadness.

"Why are you going to Denver?" Lilly asked. "What's your name, sir?"

"I've gotta look some horses for the stage line, ma'am," Jess replied. "I'm Jess Harper. What's your name?"

"I'm Lilly Sanders. I"ll be working at the saloon," Lilly answered with an encouraging smile. "Maybe I can help you unwind when we get there."

"Thanks. I don't feel like it, I appreciate your offer, though."

"What about you, sir?" Lilly asked as she turned to the other man in the coach.

"I'm Richard Logan, a banker," Richard answered shaking his head at the hopeful woman. "I'm married."

"Oh," her eyes immediately dropped to her feet. "okay."

"We're almost done," Robert called, putting an end to the conversation.

They finally finish it and then with driver and shotgun man back on the stagecoach they left Cheyenne. Don walked back into the livery stable and saw Marty put the saddle on a horse and he couldn't figure out why he was saddling another horse since Marty already has his own horse.

"Why did you saddle another horse?" Don asked.

"I'm saddling you a horse," Marty replied. "We need to get to the hill overlooking the road before they get to Denver."

Don was confused and then it dawned on him, "You're trying to wreck the coach and make it look like an accident."

"Yes, now get on the horse and shut up before I'll kill you where you're standing," Marty threaten.

Don and Marty got on their horse and Left Cheyenne in a hurry to get in position at the hill before the stagecoach passed by on the road below. Once there, they stepped off their horses.

"You go over by that rock and sit down," Marty ordered Don. "And be quiet."

Don walked where he was instructed and sat down. Marty went behind the rock and waited for the stagecoach to arrive. A few minutes later, he heard the stagecoach coming so he walked up to Don and told him to stand up and turn around. Don got up and turned around, and Marty takes his arms behind his back and tied him up with a strong rope. He sat Don back down in the front of the rock and then tied his legs together. Now he ready for the coach to have the accident.

Robert doesn't realize the bolt is about to come out of the stage and they're getting closer to Denver. Before they get to the next corner, the horses suddenly broke away from the stagecoach and the coach rolled over three times before they completely stopped. Robert and Scott were thrown out, their fall leaving them unconscious and the three people inside the coach also were knocked unconscious.

Marty got on his horse and grabbed four horses that he'd previously left there and then rode down the hill and stepped down from his horse. Marty grabbed Robert and Scott and then put them on the two of the horses. He walked up to the stage and grabbed Richard and Jess and put them on the other horses. He got back on his horse and then leading the four horses, he rode back up to the hill and went behind the rock, not knowing that Lilly had woken up and saw the whole thing.

He stepped down from the horse and then grabbed Robert and Scott from the horses and then tied their arms and legs up then sat them down right next to Don. He walked back to the other horse and then took Richard down from the horses, but leave Jess on the other horse, he did the same thing to Richard as he did to Robert and Scott. Marty tied Jess's hands to the saddle horn and blindfolded him.

*Back to the accident site.*

Lilly is so scared that the man will come after her if he knew she was still alive and she wondered why he took the men and not her. A few minutes later, she heard gunshots, four times, and she covers her mouth to keep her from screaming.

*Back at the hills.*

Marty walked up to the other horse with Jess on it, slapped the horse rear end and the horse took off. Marty got back on his horse and left the area without being seen by Lucille and her men. He went behind the big rock and waited for them.

A few minutes later, Marty saw Lucille, Chad, and Steve finally arrive and he left without being seen and headed back to prison. Lucille and her men saw an unconscious young man on the horse tied up and blindfolded, so Steve grabbed the rein and they left the area to head toward the prison.


	4. Chapter 4-Bodies Prison

Lilly slowly and quietly got out of the stagecoach, not knowing if the man was still up in the hills or not. Deciding she needed help, Lilly made the choice to walk to Cheyenne and tell the sheriff about the accident and also about the four gunshots that she heard, not knowing if the men that were taken were alive or not. She had a bad feeling that they were not. In the accident, she had hurt her arm and had a cut on her forehead, so to stop the bleeding, she tied her garments around her head, knowing that she has to keep going to get there. Fortunately Lilly knew the town was not far from where the stagecoach wrecked. A few minutes later, she finally saw the town, and she ran to the sheriff's building, opened the door and saw Sheriff Sam sitting behind his desk.

"What happened, ma'am?" Sam asked, looking up, surprised to see a young woman come into his office hurt. "You're hurt, you need to go see the doctor."

"I will, but there's a stagecoach accident not far from here," Lilly explained. "And I saw a man take four men up onto a hill."

"All right. Did you recognize him?"

"No, I didn't see his face, I woke up after he took the men," Lilly said. "And then I heard the gunshots up on the hill. I don't know if they were killed or not."

"Okay, my deputy and I will go check it out and you go see the doctor," Sam ordered.

"All right," Lilly left the sheriff's office and headed towards the doctor's office.

Sam and his deputy, Mark, saddle their horses and get on the them, and then leave town to head towards the wreck. A few minutes later, they saw the damage of the stagecoach, one big wheel came off and the door almost came off. They walked up to the front of the stagecoach and looked around to find out what caused the accident.

"The horses ran away before the accident," Sam explained as he looked around on the ground and couldn't find anything.

Deputy Mark looked around until he saw something further away from the stage, he walked towards it and picked it up and then saw that it was a bolt and then he walked back to the sheriff.

"Look what I found," Mark handed the bolt to the sheriff.

Sam looked at the bolt, "Looks like somebody trimmed the bolt before the accident."

"That's what I think."

"Lilly said the man took the men up the hill," Sam explained. "Let's go check it out."

They walked up the hill and went behind the rock and then they saw four dead men, four men with bags covering their faces, and they saw the blood on the bags.

"Do you want me to go get the wagon?" Mark asked.

"Yes hurry," Sam answered. "While you're at it, go to the livery stable and talk to Don."

"Yes, sir."

Mark went down the hill and then got back on his horse, to head towards the town to get the wagon. Sam can't believe this stranger killed these four men. A few minutes later, Mark arrived with the wagon and he has to tell Sam about Don being missing, but not right now, as they have work to do. They loaded the bodies in the back of the wagon, Sam got on his horse and then Mark got on the wagon and left the area.

They arrived back to Cheyenne, Mark went to the undertaker to deliver the dead bodies while Sam went to his office to file a report, but he has to wait for their identities when his deputy got back.

An hour later, Mark opened the door and walked up to Sam.

"What do you have, Mark?" Sheriff Sam asked.

"Three men shot in the head, one man's name was Robert Miller of Rawlins, he was the stagecoach driver, one man's name was Scott Williams of Casper, he was the shotgun," Mark explained. "One man's name was Richard Smith."

"Where was Richard from and what kind of job did he do?" Sam asked. "What about the other man?"

"Richard is a banker who is heading to Denver, Colorado. He is from Nebraska," Mark explained. "The other man is unrecognizable."

"It Richard married?" Sam asked as he looked up at Mark. "What do you mean the man is unrecognizable."

"I don't know, I just sent the telegram in Nebraska to find out about him before I came here?" Mark answered. "The man was beaten up pretty bad and he was shot in the head."

"What's his name?"

"His name was Jess Harper of Laramie."

"Okay. I guess I'm going to have to send some telegrams to the families except for Richard as you already did that," Sam said.

"Do you know Jess Harper?" Mark asked.

"No, I've heard about him but never met him," Sam replied. "What about you?"

"No. I'm the same as you and never met him either," Mark answered.

Sheriff Sam can't believe four men were murdered by this man and he is going to have to get a posse to find the man who killed them.

*Unknown Prison.*

Lucille, Steve, and Chad finally arrived at the prison along with the man on the horse. They stepped down from the horse and then Chad and Steve grabbed Jess off the horse and put him in from of Lucille.

"Let's take off the blindfold," Lucille took the blindfold off him.

Jess opened his eyes, blinked his eyes so he could see better and then looked around. Jess looked at the woman in front of him.

"What's your name?" Lucille asked when she looked at his beautiful blue eyes, noticing that she'd never seen the color before.

"I'm Jess Harper." Jess looked around and saw the wooden boats that looked like a prison. "Where am I?"

"You're in prison," Lucille said.

"I'm in what?"

"You're in my prison."

"I don't know and it was abandoned," Lucille said. "Put him with the other."

"What other?" Jess asked.

He didn't get an answered from Lucille when Steve and Chad took him away. Steve opened the door and they pushed him in the room and then closed the door.

Jess turned around and saw a bunch of men with dark-hair with different colors of eyes and he knew he was in big trouble.


	5. Chapter 5-Slim returned & Jess's death

Sheriff Cory got the telegram from the telegraph operator and he cannot believe what he just read. The telegram from Cheyenne was sent to let him know that Jess Harper was murdered by an unknown person after a stagecoach accident, and Cory doesn't know what will happen when he tell Daisy and Slim about Jess. He doesn't want to tell them, but he has no choice, so he quickly rode out there to tell them. Arriving at Slim's ranch, Daisy walks out of the house and sees the sheriff step down from his horse and then walk up to her.

"What brings you out here, sheriff?" Daisy asked.

"Is Slim here?" Cory asked.

"No, he won't be back for a couple of weeks," Daisy answered. "Jess will be back sometime this week or next week depending on the sale of the horses."

"Where's Mike?"

"He is at a friend's house to spend the night. Why?"

"Good. I don't want Mike to hear this," Cory explained. "I'm afraid I have bad news."

"What is it?" Daisy was scared about what Cory was going to say.

"It's about Jess," Cory said.

"What about him?"

"There was a stagecoach accident outside Cheyenne," Cory explained.

Daisy put her hand on her mouth when she grasped, "Is he okay?"

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"Somebody killed him." He quickly grabbed before she was about to faint.

"Who would do that?" Daisy asked.

"I don't know but I will find out," Cory replied. "I gotta go. And will you tell Slim?"

"Of course I will. I don't know how to tell him or Mike."

"Tell them the truth. Mike's got to learn sometime."

Cory got back on his horse and left the ranch. Slim stepped down from the stagecoach and looked around to see if Jess was there with the new horses. He noticed that there are no new horses and he wondered if Jess ever went to Denver or if he just hadn't returned from Denver yet. He grabbed his bag and then went inside the house and saw Mike and Daisy.

"Hey Daisy and Mike," Slim said.

"Hi Slim," Daisy replied. "How was your trip?"

"Good. I almost hit my boss."

"Tell me you didn't."

"No, I didn't but I wanted to," Slim explained. "Where's Jess? Where are the horses?"

Mike ran to his room crying and closed his door, making Slim confused.

"What's going on? Why is Mike upset?" Slim asked.

"Slim, come sit down. I have something to tell you," Daisy said.

Slim walked to the table and sat down on the chair.

"There was an accident outside Cheyenne and Jess never made it there to Denver," Daisy explained.

"Is he okay?" Slim was scared to ask.

"No, somebody killed him."

"What do you mean somebody killed him?" Slim got up from his chair angry.

"Sheriff Cory got the telegram from Cheyenne and said Jess was killed."

"No, no it can't be true!" Slim yelled, upset.

"It's true, I wish it wasn't."

"Did Cory say anything about the sheriff from Cheyenne sending Jess's body back to us?" Slim asked.

"No, he didn't. He says he's going to Cheyenne to find out," Daisy answered.

"It's all my fault."

"No, it's not your fault."

"Yes is it. I slugged him last week," Slim explained. "I broke his heart. I was going to apologize to him when I got back."

"It's not your fault, it was your boss's fault," Daisy said. "He is the one that sent you that telegram at the last minute."

"You're right. I'm going outside to get some fresh air."

Slim walked out of the house, went straight to the barn. How was he going to tell Andy and Jonesy about Jess's death? He knew Andy wouldn't forgive him when he finds out what he did to Jess. He walked in the barn and saw Traveler and Alamo in their stable. He wondered if Traveler knew about his master being gone. He would go to town tomorrow to find out if it's true. He walked out of the barn and then walked back to the house. He walked into the house and saw Daisy putting foods on the table.

"Supper's ready."

"I'm not hungry, Daisy," Slim said. "I'm going to go lie down and get some sleep and I'll eat tomorrow."

"Okay. Mike wasn't hungry either and I will save the food for tomorrow."

"All right. Goodnight, Daisy."

"Goodnight Slim."

Slim went into his room to get some sleep but he probably won't get much sleep and he will go to town to find out if it's true about Jess being gone.


	6. Chapter 6-Town, escape, and Slim's pain

Content warning: Beat, whipped, hot iron.

Slim woke up, got up and got his clothes on and then walked out of his room. He walked up to the table and sat down, and ate his breakfast even though he was not hungry and then he got up.

"I'm going to town to talk to Cory if it's true about Jess," Slim said. "We're not going to jump to the conclusion and I won't be gone long."

"Okay, be careful."

"I will." He walked out of the house, went straight to the barn to saddle his horse, Alamo.

He walked into the barn and grabbed his saddle, about to put his saddle on Alamo, but Alamo moved away from it and then Slim tried it again, but Alamo still moved away again.

"Are you mad at me like Traveler is?" Slim asked, talking to his horse.

Alamo nodded his head as he snorted. Slim took his saddle with him out of the barn to get another horse, put his saddle down on the ground, then went inside the corral and grabbed another horse, took the horse out of the fence. He put the saddle on the horse, got on it and left the ranch. Twelve miles later, he arrived at Laramie, went straight to Cory's office, stepped down from the horse and then went inside the sheriff's office and saw Cory, who had just come back from Cheyenne, sitting behind his desk.

"Hi Cory," Slim said.

"Hello, Slim. Did Daisy tell you about Jess?" Cory asked.

"Yes, she did. It can't be true," Slim says. "Please tell it's not true about Jess being gone."

"I just got back from Cheyenne and I did identify Jess's body. I'm sorry to tell you that Jess is gone," Cory explained.

"Thanks. I'm going back to my ranch."

Slim walked out of the sheriff's office followed by Cory and he watched Slim get on his horse.

"Umm, Slim, that's not your horse." Cory said confused.

"I know. Alamo and Traveler are mad at me."

"What did you do to make the horses mad at you?"

"I slugged Jess. Traveler saw his master got hit," Slim explained. "I guess Traveler translated to Alamo about what I did."

"I guess they are best friends just like you and Jess," Cory tried not to laugh. "What did you do that for?"

"I was mad at my boss so I took it out on Jess," Slim replied. "I have to go."

"Okay. See you." Cory walked back in his office and laughed so hard about what Slim says to him about the horses.

Slim left Laramie and headed home.

*Back to Prison.*

Marty walked in the cabin and saw the young men and that neither of them had escaped...yet. And then he looked at the young man who Lucille and her men grabbed yesterday.

"Get outside now!" Marty ordered pointing at Jess. "Except you, we need to talk."

All the men except Jess walked out of the cabin. Marty walked up to Jess and he remembers him from being in the war prison.

"Do you remember me, Jess Harper?" Marty asked evilly.

Jess looked at him and he can't believe he's there and nodded his head, "Marty, I thought you were in jail."

"I got out." Marty grabbed Jess by the arm and then took him outside and threw him on the ground.

"Why you?!" Jess got up and went straight after him.

Marty slapped him across the face and he went back down on the ground.

"That's enough!" Lucille yelled as she walked up to them.

Marty picked up Jess and put him in line with the rest of the men."

"Hi, let me introduced myself. I'm Lucille Johnson as you all know except him," Lucille explained. "What's your name again?"

"I'm Jess Harper," Jess answered. "What am I doing here? What is this place?"

"You don't need to know what you're doing here. This is Fort Lucille," Lucille said.

"This is no fort!" Jess angry. "It looks like a prison!"

"Nobody lives here anymore, so this is my fort," Lucille explained. "I called it Fort Lucille after me. You men, you know what you're supposed to do in the garden."

"Yes, ma'am." They all went to work in the garden.

"And you will work in the stable to brush the dirt off the horses and then water and feed them," Lucille said. "Marty will show you where the barn is."

Marty walked up to Jess and pointed his gun at him, "Move it."

Jess walked towards the barn followed by Marty, walked inside the barn and saw the horses with dust on them so he walked up to them and grabbed the brushes nearby and started brushing them off and then cleaning them. He doesn't realize Marty has a plan for him.

Two hours later, he finally finishes the horses and looked around to see if Marty was around and he is nowhere to be found so he walked outside and looked around to see if Marty was around, he was just about to escape, but he didn't make it very far, because Marty grabbed him back into the barn and threw him on the ground and knocked him out and then closed the barn door.

*Back to the cabin.*

Chad and Steve wondered if they did the right thing about helping Lucille to kidnap the men and then also wondered where Lucille found Marty. They don't trust him and there was something about him they didn't like.

"I wonder where Lucille found him," Chad asked.

"I know. Why don't we go ask her?" Steve answered.

"Good idea."

They walked back in the cabin and walked up to Lucille.

"I got a question for you," Steve asked.

"Sure, what's the question?" Lucille replied.

"Where did you find Marty?"

"At the bar in Rawlins," Lucille explained. "He said he needed the job."

"How come we didn't see him with us when we went to Rawlins?" Steve asked as he forgot that he and Chad were still at the prison to keep an eye on the prisoner.

"You were in prison to keep an eye on the men," Lucille said.

"I remember now. You're right. We just wanted to know about him."

They walked out of the cabin and checked on the men to make sure they were doing their job and they wondered where Marty was at. They figured he was at the barn keeping an eye on Jess and they will check on him later.

*Back at the barn.*

Marty looked down at Jess unconscious and then walked in between the horse stable, opened up the secret room that nobody knew about, walked back to Jess and then drag Jess into the secret room and closed the door so nobody would find him in there and he would release Jess when he was ready.

He put Jess down on the floor, unbuttoned his shirt and then took it off, dragging Jess where the shackles hung from the ceiling. Marty grabbed Jess's wrists above his head and cuffed him. He waited for him to wake up so he went to the iron box and then put the lantern by the door so he could put him in the iron box just like he did to the four men that didn't survive either iron box or icebox. He wondered if Jess would survive both of them because he never got a chance to hurt him back in the army prison.

A few minutes later, Jess woke up and saw his wrists above his head and he panicked until he saw Marty walked up to him.

"Good, you're awake," Marty said evilly. "I was wondering if you were going to sleep your life away."

"Why are you doing this?" Jess asked.

"I never got a chance to do this before the rescue." Marty then shows Jess the whip in his hand.

Jess's eyes widened. Marty walked behind his back and started whipping him on his back. Jess cringed. Marty kept on whipping him until he screamed. He finally stopped, grabbed the cuffs and uncuffed him and then Jess dropped to his knee. Marty grabbed the rope and tied his hands behind his back. Marty put him in the iron box, tied his feet, and hung the lantern above the door inside the box.

"I'll be back." Marty closed the door, snickering.

Marty walked out of the secret room, closed the door and walked out of the barn and then headed towards the cabin to get something to eat. He will go back to the barn to finish him some more later.

*Meanwhile back at Sherman's ranch.*

Slim has been working around the barn since supper until he felt something pain in his stomach. He couldn't figure out what going on. He almost mad it back to the house before he collapsed on the ground unconscious.


	7. Chapter 7-Daisy help Slim Slim leave

Guest: I got a beta and she help me with the story as you know her in Laramie story, she's Calico and she a good writer. Yes, I watch Laramie and I still do. This is fanfiction, You can write whatever you want, you don't have to follow the show, you can write your own and also you can follow the show with the story, I see people do that before and after the show and what they feel it's not done what the writers didn't do. I feel the show should gone on to Fifth season, I feel the story is not done. I'm not a writers, I'm just enjoy writing and I'm not going to quit. They help me relax, not stress.

Contain warning: Icebox

Slim woke up from his unconsciousness, sitting up confused, wondering what the heck happened to him. He couldn't figure why he was feeling pain and unusually hot too. He has never felt this type of pain or heat before and he began to wonder if Jess was still alive, as he had always had a strong bond with Jess during the three years they'd been friends.

Daisy came out of the house and saw Slim on the ground, walked up to him and then bend down next to him.

"Are you alright, Slim?" Daisy asked. "Why are you on the ground?"

"I'm fine, Daisy. I don't know," Slim answered. "Why is it so hot out here?"

She looked around, confused, not feeling anything hot, "It's not hot out here, it's very cool out here."

"Oh, okay. I must be more tired than I thought."

"Why don't we go inside the house and get ready for bed?"

"Okay."

Slim and Daisy went inside the house and then went to bed.

*Back to prison.*

Lucille walked up to Marty and told him to tell the men to go back to the cabin to get some rest and he nodded his head, but before she left, she asks him a question.

"How is Harper doing?" Lucille asked.

"He's doing fine and he's working very hard with the horses," Marty replied. "I will tell him to go back to the cabin to get some rest."

"All right."

Marty watched Lucille walk away. He has an evil smirk on his face, he will never let Jess go until he is ready to let him go, which will be never. He went to the garden to go back to the cabin and they nodded their heads and left the garden. Marty walked back into the cabin and opened the secret room and walked inside.

He opened the iron box, took the lantern out and then grabbed Jess out of the box then closed the door. Jess's whole body was very hot, and he looked up at Marty and saw him cut the rope off his feet and Marty grabbed his hands and also cut the rope.

"What did I ever do to you to make you so mad?" Jess asked.

"Because of you, I never got a chance to hurt you," Marty replied.

"Why?"

"I got replaced by Halleck," Marty said bitterly and then he hit Jess in the face. Marty grabbed Jess by the arm, dragged him to the icebox, threw him in and closed the door.

"Let's see if you can survive this icebox, since you already survived the iron box," Marty yelled.

Marty left the barn to check on the other men and then got something to eat. Jess paced back and forth to keep warm and wouldn't go to sleep. He's survived the iron and he would survive this one.

*Back to Sherman's place.*

Slim woke up, put his clothes on and then walked out of his bedroom then all of a sudden he felt cold. He walked up to the table and sat down.

Daisy put the breakfast on the table and called for Mike to get cleaned up and come to the table.

"Oh, Slim, before I forget to give it to you," Daisy said.

"What?"

"Here is a telegram for you." Daisy handed Slim the telegram.

Slim read it and couldn't believe that his little brother and Jonesy were coming to visit him and Jess for summer vacation. How was he going to tell Andy and Jonesy that he is the one responsible for Jess's death, since it was his hand that slugged him.

"Oh great. Jess is not here and they're coming," Slim said. "What am I going to do?"

"Tell them the truth, Slim," Daisy answered.

"No, no, no. It's will break Andy's heart," Slim explained. "Andy adored him and Jess is also his hero."

"What's wrong, Slim?" Daisy notices Slim shaking.

"I don't know, I just felt cold this morning," Slim replied. "First, yesterday I'm hot and now I'm cold."

"Why don't you go back to bed and get warm?"

"I can't right now. I have to go to town and talk to Mort." Slim got up, put his gun around his waist and turned around. "Don't tell Andy and Jonesy about Jess's death."

"Okay, but what am I going to tell them?"

"Just tell them Jess is out of town and he took the stagecoach and he took the stagecoach to Denver and he won't be back until sometime next week."

"Be careful."

"I will. I will probably be out of town for a while." Slim said as he left the house.

"Okay."

*Back to prison.*

Chad and Steve walked in the cabin, saw everybody sitting down at the table eating their lunch, but they noticed that Jess was not at the table. They wondered where he was at, as they knew he worked at the barn, but did not come out of the barn.

"Where's Jess Harper?" Steve asked the men.

"He has never come to the cabin since you brought him here yesterday," Kevin answered. "He probably is still at the barn."

"Did he ever come to bed last night?" Chad asked.

"No, the bed hasn't been slept in," Kevin replied. "The same thing happened to three other men that never came out of the barn."

"Chad, go look at the window to see if Marty goes in or comes out of the barn," Steve said.

Chad nodded his head and went to the window to see if Marty come out or went into the barn. A few minutes later, he saw Marty go inside the barn. He walked back to Steve.

"Marty just went inside the barn," Chad said.

"Let's go see if he leads us to Jess."

They walked out of the cabin, headed towards the barn and through the slightly opened door, they saw Marty walked into the secret room.

"I didn't know there was a secret room," Chad whispered.

"Me either, if Jess is in there," Steve replied. "I wonder if Kevin is right about those three men that were missing."

"We need to go tell Lucille about Marty," Chad said.

"Let's go."

They closed the door quietly and ran towards the cabin to tell Lucille about Marty.

*Inside the barn.*

Marty opened the icebox, saw Jess pacing back and forth to keep warm with his hands rubbing his arms. He smirks on his face and can't believe he survived that one too, but he gave him credit for that one and then he grabbed Jess and threw him on the floor. HE looked down at Jess's boots, grabbed his feet and took his boots off his feet.

"What are you doing?!" Jess yelled as he chattered his teeth as he tried to kick him.

"You won't be needing them where I'm taking you."

Jess looked up at Marty and wondered what Marty was going to do to him next. Jess's eyes looked so sad, wondering if he ever going to get home. Even though his heart was broken, he still missed Slim, Mike, and Daisy.

"I'll be right back." Marty grabbed Jess's boots, walked out of the secret room and walked out of the barn. He threw away the boots and then walked back in the barn to grab the ropes and Jess.

*Back to Laramie.*

Slim walked into the sheriff's office, Mort Cory looked up and saw Slim walked in and close the door, noticing that he looked awful.

"You look awful slim," Cory said. "What did you do to your horse this time. Get in a fight with him?"

"Thanks. Very funny, Mort," Slim gave Mort an angry looked. "Where did the sheriff find Jess's body?"

"On the road outside Cheyenne and close to Colorado. Why?" Mort asked confused. "You think Jess is alive?"

"I don't know. That's just something that I was thinking."

"What makes you think Jess is alive?"

"I felt this chill this morning, yesterday, I was hot and the weather is cool."

"You and Jess always had a strong bond. Are you going to Cheyenne now?"

"Yes, I need to identify Jess," Slim explained. "I have to make sure if he is Jess or not."

"Okay. You better hurry up before they send him back here to get buried."

"Thanks." Slim rushed out of the door to get to Cheyenne.

Sometime later, Slim arrived in Cheyenne went to the sheriff's office, stepped down from his horse and walked inside the sheriff's office.

Sheriff Sam looked up, "Howdy, what can I do for you, sir?"

"I'm Slim Sherman of Laramie. Where can I find the undertakers?"

"I need to identify Jess's body," Slim replied.

"How about I go with you?"

"All right."

Slim and Sam walked out of the sheriff's office and then walked straight to the funeral parlor, walked inside the building and saw the undertaker. Tyler looked up and saw the men.

"Hey, Sheriff." Tyler saw a young man. "Who's this young man? What can I do for you, sir?"

"This is Slim Sherman of Laramie and he wants to see Jess's body," Sam said.

"Okay. He's over here and he is about ready to go back to Laramie."

They walked over to Jess's body, Tyler uncovers the blanket. Slim looked at the face and the body shape, he is not sure if that was Jess or not. The only way to find out if that Jess or not is his eyes.

"What color is this man's eyes?" Slim asked.

"I don't know," Sam replied.

"Check it...now!" Slim shouted, getting impatient.

"Okay." Tyler opened the man's eyes and discovered that the man's eyes are brown.

"That is not Jess's body." Slim is excited.

"How do you know that wasn't Jess?" Sam asked.

"Because Jess's eyes are baby blue," Slim answered. "And the man's hands are dirty and Jess wears gloves."

Sam and Tyler looked at the dirty hands. Sam wondered if this man is the same blacksmith that was missing a week ago.

"This man must be Don," Sam said.

"Who's Don?" Slim asked in confusion.

"Don is a blacksmith and he worked at the livery stable," Sam explained. "He has been missing for a week."

"Where did you find the bodies at?"

"About ten miles from here you will find the stagecoach and then you go up into the hills," Sam explained. "I got a gun belt and gloves at my office if you want to see it."

"Thanks. Hold on to it when I get back. I'll probably be heading back here when I get back."

Sam nodded his head. Slim walked out of the funeral parlor, walked back to his horse, got on it and left Cheyenne. Ten minutes later, he arrived at the accident site, saw the horse track on the ground and went up to the hill. He got off his horse, looked around and saw a bunch of horse tracks heading west and got back on his horse.

"I'll find you, Jess, just hold on." Slim whispered as he headed west.


	8. Chapter 8-escape, hostage, and return

Here is chapter 8.

Note: Slim is not in this one and he will be in the next chapter.

Jess left so cold all over his body after he put his shirt back on, but he wouldn't let the cold get the best of so he got up and went behind the door to wait for Marty to return. A few minutes later, Marty walked inside the secret room and saw Jess nowhere in sight. Jess came out behind the door and then hit Marty on the head with his hand. Marty was knocked down, but pretended to be unconscious. Jess looked down at him to see if he would get up and saw his eyes closed.

Jess walked out of the secret room, headed towards the door and saw two men going inside the cabin, just as he was about to walk out of the barn, Jess was grabbed from behind, he cringed at his arms were pulled around his back.

"Where do you think you're going?" Marty asked.

"I wanna go home!" Jess yelled as sadness darkened his eyes.

"You're not going home, you're going exactly where I'm taking you," Marty said. "Back to the war prison."

"You know the war is over."

"I know and I don't care," Marty said. "We'll wait here to see if Steve and Chad tell Lucille about me when they come back out."

*Inside the cabin.*

Lucille looked up and saw Chad and Steve walk in and she knew was wrong, otherwise they wouldn't have come in there that quick.

"What's wrong?" Lucille asked.

"Jess is missing," Steve replied.

"What do you mean Jess is missing?"

"Jess hasn't been in the cabin since we brought him here," Steve explained. "Bed hasn't been slept in and he didn't come to supper last night."

"Marty should be watching him," Lucille said in anger.

"He did and we found that he has a secret room inside the barn and that is where he's probably hiding Jess," Steve explained. "Kevin said three men have been missing since you hired him and I won't be surprised if he did killed the men."

"We're going have to let the men go," Lucille said guiltily. "I can't do this anymore. My husband and your boss too will be disappointed in us when he finds out what I've done."

"What made you change your mind?" Steve asked, confused.

"I don't know, maybe it's my head telling me to let them go."

"I'm glad you're finally listening to what your head or what your heart telling you," Chad said.

"Okay. Let get them out of here," Lucille replied. "And find Marty."

Lucille, Steve, and Chad walked out of the cabin to head towards the other cabin to tell the men they are releasing them and that they can go home.

*Back to the barn.*

Marty watches Lucille and her men walk towards the other cabin then go inside and then Marty pushes Jess towards the cabin.

*Back to the cabin.*

The men up when they saw Lucille and her men walk in, hoping that they aren't there to give them more work to do because they are exhausted.

"You're not going to give us more work, are you?" Kevin asked.

"You're not going to work for us anymore," Lucille answered. "We're going to let you all go."

"You not joking, are you?" Roger asked.

"No, I'm not joking."

"Thank you, so much. We can't wait to go back to our families." Kevin says excitedly.

Before the men celebrate going home, the door is burst opened. Jess is pushed into the room and falls to the floor, with Marty walking in behind him with a gun pointing at them.

Steve and Chad look down at Jess's feet, noticing that he has no boots on.

"Look what I have here, Lucile and her men," Marty said, emitting an evil laugh. "Are you going somewhere?"

Lucille walked up to him, "Yes, we are and we're going to let them go. And I'm letting you go, too."

"Who says about me going anywhere?" Marty asked.

Lucille can't believe what she just heard and also can't believe that she hired him the first place to keep an eye on the men while she was out finding more men, and at once she realized she made a mistake in hiring him.

"What do you mean, you're not going anywhere?" Lucille asked.

"What I meant was that you are not going anywhere, but sit down on the chair," Marty replied. "I have a gun and I know how to use it."

Lucille, Steve, Chad, and the rest of the men sit down.

"What happened to the three men that were here?" Lucille said.

"They are frozen solid," Marty answered. "If you don't know what means, it means they are dead."

"What do you do with them? Did you kill them before or after we got here?"

"Behind the barn, you can't miss the three graves. I killed them three weeks before you left," Marty said. "Shut up, I don't want to talk to you anymore." Marty turned and looked at Jess. "Here are some ropes, tie them up, so we can leae."

Marty hands the ropes to Jess and Jess reluctantly took the ropes and tied Lucille, Chad, Steve, and all of the men up.

"You come back here," Marty ordered Jess to come to him and Jess shook his head, no. "If you don't come here, I'll kill them."

Jess had no choice, so he walked up to him. HE doesn't want to see them all get killed even thought they kidnapped him and the other men. Marty roughly grabbed his hands and tied them together, making Jess cringe.

"Where are you taking him?" Lucille asked.

"None of your business where I'm taking him," Marty replied. "I thank you for hiring me."

"Is that the reason why you want to be hired, so you could take Jess?" Lucille asked.

"Yes and good luck calling for help, since nobody is around to come to your rescue."

Marty left the cabin along with Jess, and he got on his horse and left the fort dragging Jess behind him.

*Back to Sherman's ranch.*

The stagecoach rode into Sherman Relay Station and stopped in front of the house. Mose and John, the shotgun man, stepped down from the coach. John went to help Ben wit the horses and Mose opened the door, and stepping off the coach was Andy and Jonesy.

Andy looked around the yard and saw the red barn, "Wow, Slim and Jess painted the barn?"

"Yes, I wondered who told them to do that," Jonesy wondered.

"I don't know, but I guess we'll find out from Slim."

"I'll see you later, we gotta get going. Tell Daisy, I said, hi." Mose and John got back on the stagecoach and left the place.

"Who's Daisy?" Andy asked.

"I don't know, let's go in the house," Jonesy answered.

They walked into the house, looked around and saw nobody at home and they wondered where everyone went.

"I'll go check in the barn," Andy said.

"Okay."

Andy walked out of the house, walked inside the barn and saw Alamo and Traveler in the stable and he was confused and wondered why they didn't take their horses with them. He wondered where they could have gone until he heard the wagon coming in Sherman's yard, and expecting Slim and Jess, he walked out of the barn and saw an older woman and a young child.

Andy walked up to Ben and asked, "Who are these people?"

"They are Daisy, the housekeeper, and Mike Williams," Ben explained. "Slim and Jess adopted him."

"Where are Slim and Jess?" Andy asked.

"They are out of town and they will be back sometime next week." Ben had to make up a story about Slim being out of town, even though he knew Slim had been home last week before he left again and he also couldn't tell Andy about Jess being killed in a stagecoach accident.

"Thanks." Andy walked up to Daisy and Mike.

"About time you two showed up." Jonesy walked out of the house and saw two people who are not Slim and Jess, "I'm sorry, ma'am."

"That's okay. Who are you, if you don't mind me asking?" Daisy asked.

"This is Jonesy and I'm Andy Sherman, Slim's little brother," Andy replied. "We use to live here until I went to school."

"Oh, Slim told me about you two. I'm Daisy Cooper and this is Mike Williams," Daisy said.

"I know, Ben told me and he also said that Slim and Jess are out of town," Andy said. "But I just saw Jess's and Slim's horses in the barn."

"They took the stagecoach." Daisy doesn't like lying to him. "They will be back next week."

"okay, let's get something to eat," Jonesy said.

They walked back inside the house to fix supper. Daisy hopes Slim will bring Jess's body home, so they can bury him right next to Mr. and Mrs. Sherman. Daisy doesn't realize Slim is not in Cheyenne anymore and went to find Jess.


	9. Chapter 9-Meet, fort, and free

Here is chapter 9.

Slim rode into the desert after he left the stagecoach when he followed the tracks. He will find Jess if he has to search for him for the rest of his life and he knew Andy and Jonesy were probably at the ranch by now. HE hoped that Daisy and Mike won' tell Andy and Jonesy about what he did to Jess, if they did find out about him slugging Jess they wouldn't forgive him for doing that to his best friend. And he will make it up to Jess and tell him that it wasn't his fault, but it was his idiot boss for not telling him until the last minute about the change.

Suddenly, Slim sees a many in front of him. Unknown to the man, Slim slowly rides up to the man and points his gun at him.

"Hold it right there mister and who are you?" Slim asked.

The man stops, raises his hands, and looks up to see a familiar young man, "Hello, Slim."

"Matty Johnson? What are you doing out here?" Slim was shocked to see his old friend from the army.

"I'm looking for my wife and my two ranch hands," Matty answered. "What you doing out here?"

"I'm looking for my friend who I thought was killed," Slim explained. "The body that was found wasn't my best friend, but belonged to somebody else."

"Someone sure must have done a good job to make a body to look like somebody else," Matty said, "May I ask who this person is that you are looking for?"

"Sure. His name is Jess Harper."

Matty looked up in shock. "Jess Harper? Dark hair with baby blue eyes and five foot eleven inches tall?"

"Yes, that's him, he's my partner and my best friend," Slim said. "You know him."

"Yes, I met him in prison after the war," Matty explained. "Before you say anything, I was a volunteer prison guard, helping with various duties, then I left after six months."

"Was he still there when you left?"

"As far as I know, he was. Come on, let's go find them."

They kept on riding for a while until they saw the fort down the hill and they wondered if anybody was there.

"That fort is not an army post, is it?" Matty asked.

"No, it not. The only active fort I know is called Fort Laramie," Slim answered. "Somebody must have built that fort years ago to make it look like an army fort or it used to be a fort of some kind. I don't know."

"Let's go check it out."

They rode into the fort, stepped down from their horses and then looked around and saw two buildings, so they went to the first building, walk in, and saw Lucille, Steve, Chad, and the men tied up. They hurried up to untie them.

"Matty, you're here," Lucille said. "I'm so glad to see you. Who is this man?"

"That's Slim Sherman, Jess Harper's partner," Marty replied.

They finish untying them and Slim looked around to see if Jess was around, but nowhere to be seen.

"Who are these men?" Matty asked.

"I kidnapped them just to get back at my uncle," Lucille explained.

"What's your uncle's name, if you don't mind my asking?" Slim asked.

"Joe Griffith, you know him?" Lucille asked.

"No, but I've heard about him, he's a drunk," Slim explained. "He has been dead for about four months."

Lucille can't believe what she just heard. Her uncle has been dead for awhile and she wouldn't have kidnapped the men if she has known about her uncle has being gone and now she will be in trouble with the law.

"Where's Jess?" Slim asked.

"He was here and now someone took him away." Lucille looked at Matty and she knew what he was going to say, "Steve and Chad have nothing to do with this, they just followed my orders. I did all of this on my own."

"Okay. Who took Jess?" Matty asked.

"Marty Grant."

Matty can't believe what he just heard, "Marty Grant?"

"You know him?" Lucille asked.

"Yes. He is the other guard that I worked with and he is also a psycho," Marty explained. "He enjoys beating and whipping his prisoners, he also enjoys putting them in the iron box and icebox."

"I take it, he hurt Jess?" Slim asked.

"I don't know if he did or not," Matty answered. "I left the prison after six months and I can't tell you if he did or not."

"He did hurt him," Lucille said.

"What do you mean?" Slim asked.

"When Marty pushed him in the door, I saw where his back had been whipped. He looked like he was hot or cold or both," Lucille explained. "He has no boots on his feet."

Jo wonder Slim felt the strange feelings because first he was hot and then he was cold and he still was. Lucille looked at Slim and she couldn't help bur wonder why he was wearing a jacket in the summertime.

"Why are you wearing a jacket in the summer?" Lucille asked.

"I'm cold." Slim took his jacket off. "Now I'm hot."

"Sound like you and Jess have a very strong bond," Marty said.

"We are very close and I'm very protected of him," Slim answered. "Do you know where Marty took Jess?"

"He took Jess out into the desert with no boots on," Lucille said. "Find him before it's too late. I'm so sorry that I kidnapped your friend."

"Don't apologize to me, apologize to Jess," Slim replied. "I will find him and meet you all at the Cheyenne hotel."

Matty nodded his head, promising that they will meet in Cheyenne as soon as they got there and they hoped Slim would find him fast. Slim walked out of the cabin, got on his horse and left the fort to find his best friend.

"Steve, can you take the men out so I can talk to my wife alone?" Matty asked.

"Sure take all the time you want," Steve answered.

Steve, Chad, and the men stepped out of the cabin to look around while Matty talked to his wife.

"Why didn't you tell me that your uncle hurt you?" Matty asked.

"I was afraid," Lucille answered.

"Afraid of what?" Matty sat down next to her and put his hand around her shoulder.

"That you would leave me after what I'd done"

"Oh, honey I will never leave you. I may get mad, but I will always forgive you."

"What if I go to jail for kidnapping , because I wanted revenge against my uncle and then who will take care of you and the ranch?" Lucille asked.

"Don't worry about it, we will take care of it when the time comes," Matty explained. "They will probably just put you, Steve, and Chad on probation."

Lucille told her husband that Steve and Chad had nothing to do with it but only followed her rules and they didn't need to get involved with it. Matty agrees with her but wasn't sure that the judge would go for that and he also figured that it depended on who the judge would be.

Steve rushes back to the cabin with Jess's boots and Matty and Lucille jump up from their chair.

"What the heck are you doing, rushing in like that?" Matty asked. "What are you doing with those boots in your hands?"

"I'm sorry, but I found Jess's boots," Steve said.

"Where did you find them at?" Lucille asked.

"Outside the barn, close to the fence," Steve answered.

"You better pray and hope Slim finds him before it's too late," Matty said. "Let's get out of here, so we can get to Cheyenne before dark."

They walked out of the cabin. Matty, Lucille, Steve, Chad, and the men got on their horses, left the fort along with the three dead men to head towards Cheyenne.


	10. Chapter 10-Rescue, truth, and Rest

Here is chapter 10.

Notes: Oletta Hodges- I got a beta who help me with the story and I'm going to keep writing 'till I prove my writing. I've never got a higher grade, I got a average grade. I watch more movie then I do in class. Some of the movies are not a true story, there are some and there are not. I wish I got a good teacher that care, not a teacher who didn't go to college. You're right, I was rushing my story and not stop and think, I'll tried to remember that one.

Part: 10-Rescue time.

Slim found the horse tracks and footprints, so he followed, hoping that he finds Jess before it's too late. He kept on riding until he got up onto a mountain, waiting for someone to come through on the ground below.

Jess kept on walking while Marty rode the horse, even though his feet were killing him, and he knew that his socks were ruined. He was so tired, thirsty, and hungry, and he was starting to not feel good. Jess kept hoping that Slim would find him before he collapsed from exhaustion. He felt his body burning up and then cold so much that he couldn't tell which it was anymore.

*Meanwhile on top of the mountain.*

A few minutes later, Slim saw someone riding on a horse and then saw someone walking behind the horse, and it made him so mad to see that it was his best friend walking with no boots on his feet to protect his feet. Slim has to get down there to rescue Jess. So he rides down the mountain the same way he came up quietly.

*Down on the mountain.*

Jess collapsed down to his knee, so Marty stopped and turned his head around and saw Jess on his knee.

"Come on, get up!" Marty shouted. "I don't have all day."

Jess looked up at Marty, angrily, "You got plenty of time and I need to rest! Where are you taking me?!"

"I'm taking you back to Texas," Marty said.

"Texas? That's too far for me to walk." Jess said, about to lose his voice.

"That it why I don't have all day. Come on."

Jess was beyond mad and looking up at Marty, he got up and charged after Marty, pushing him off his horse and down Marty go. Jess went after him and started beating the crap out of him. Slim rode up just in time to see Jess beat Marty up, and he got down from his horse and then rushed to pull Jess by his waist before he killed Marty.

Slim put Jess down on the ground before he checked Jess' body for injuries, and then Marty got up and pointed the gun at him.

"Hold it right there! Who do you think you are, coming in here to take him away?!" Marty shouted.

"I'm here to take home where he belong," Slim threatened.

"No, he belongs in a war prison."

"Marty, the war is over," Slim said. "There's nothing you can do about it. I'm taking him home and you better not stop me from taking him."

"First, how do you know my name?" Marty asked. "Second, last I checked I'm holding the gun here and I will say that it's not over until I say it's over!" Marty screamed. "You hand that boy over to me, now!"

"Lucille told me. And if I don't?"

"If you don't do it. I'll kill you where you stand like I did the others."

"What others?" Slim confused.

"Mmm, I killed Lucille's parents when she was a little girl, I wasn't supposed to kill her mother just her father," Marty explained. "I was hired by her father's boss, but you can tell her, don't worry about him anymore, I killed the boss too and I also killed three men at the fort."

"Where were they from?" Slim asked. "Why did you kill the boss?"

"Chicago. Boss is a mobster or gangster," Marty said. "I don't wanna talk anymore. Hand me that boy."

Slim took a firm step and stood his ground. Marty looked at him, turned his head sideways and smiled, just moments away from shooting Slim. Bu unknown to either of them, Jess sat up and grabbed Slim's gun with the rope around his writs. Marty shot his gun while Jess shot his gun at the same time and both went down. Jess crawled to Slim who was grazed by the side of his head and then looked at Marty, not moving, for he was dead as a doornail. He had shot him through the heart.

"Oh, my head, why do I always get shot and grazed in the head," Slim sat up, held his side of his head with his hand.

"Why do you think I call you hard rock?" Jess said.

Slim looked at Jess nd he knew he needed to get him out of the sun and get him home, so he tied a bandana around his head. Slim untied Jess' wrists, and then he took a glove off and checked Jess' forehead, feeling that he was burning up and then he checked Jess' body to see if anything was broken, and then looked at his feet, seeing some damage.

Jess looked at Slim, "You look awful."

"Thanks. Are you still cold or hot?"

"Both. My body is messed up and can't tell between hot or cold," Jess explained. "What about you?"

"I feel the same way and I haven't been slept lately since you left."

"I'm tired, thirsty, and I'm hungry."

"I will get you out of here, but first let me take care of the dead guy," Slim said. "And I'll take care of you and then we'll head out."

"Okay."

Slim walked over to the dead guy, picked him up, laid him over the horse and then covered him up with a blanket and then tied him down. He walked over to his best friend and then picked him up.

"Aaah!" Jess screamed.

Slim put him down, "What's wrong?"

"My back!"

Slim lifted Jess' shirt up and saw the whip marks on his back and then looked over at the dead man, wishing that he could bring him back alive so he could kill him again for hurting Jess.

"I'll be very careful and be gentle with you," Slim said.

Jess nodded. Slim picked him by the arm, walked him over to his horse, lifted him up on Slim's horse and then he got behind him. Jess looked at the horse and then looked at Slim.

"This is not your horse," Jess said. "What happened to Alamo?"

"He's at the ranch with Traveler," Slim answered. "They were both mad at me for hurting you. I'm going to cover you up."

"Okay."

Slim covered him up to keep him warm, "I'm going to put my coat cover your face to keep the sun away from you."

Before Slim covered him, Jess thought about what Slim said about the horses being mad at Slim and then starting laughing. Slim wondered what Jess was laughing about.

"What's so funny?" Slim asked.

"I thought about what you said about the horses being mad at you," Jess said.

Slim made a face and put his coat over Jess while he was still laughing. Sometime later, they arrived at Cheyenne, and Slim pulled the horses to a stop up next to the sheriff's office.

"Sheriff!" Slim yelled.

Sheriff Sam came out of the office and saw Slim, "Are you trying to wake up the whole neighborhood?"

"I'm sorry, I'm here to tell you that I found Don's killer, Marty Grant," Slim said. "Is the doctor around?"

Sam walked up to the dead man, looked at him and then looked Slim, "No, he's not here and he won't be back for two weeks."

"Where is he?" Slim asked. "I found my friend, Jess Harper and he needs a doctor and he's hurt."

"He's at a medical conference," Sam said. "I'm sorry, who's this Jess Harper?"

"You've never met him? He's been in Cheyenne many times."

"I'm a new sheriff, I just started working four weeks ago since the other sheriff retired," Sam explained. "I'd like to meet him so I will know what he looks like."

"Okay." Slim took the coat away from Jess' face, "This is Jess Harper. Jess, this is Sheriff Sam."

Jess looked at the new sheriff, waved his hand and then laughed again when his mind thought about the horses. Slim put his coat back over his face. Sam was confused about what Jess was laughing about.

"Don't ask."

Slim left the sheriff standing to head towards the hotel to get some rest, planning to ride on the stagecoach tomorrow once Slim sent a telegram to Mort Cory. He rode up to the hotel and saw his old friend, Matty waiting for him in front of the hotel.

"I got you and Jess a room," Matty said.

"Thanks, I'm tired. Where's your wife?" Slim asked.

"She is in our room. Why?" Matty replied.

"I have to talk to you and your wife about what Marty said about her parents," Slim explained. "First, let me take care of Jess's back and feet. The doctor is out of town."

"All right."

Slim stepped down from his horse, and with Matty's help, they got Jess down from the horse and went into the hotel. They went upstairs and walked in the room, laid Jess down on his stomach after Slim took Jess's shirt off. Matty went to fill a bowl with water to clean him up and then he handed the bowl to Slim.

"You need any help?" Matty asked.

"No, I've got this, thanks and I will meet you in your room when I'm done," Slim answered.

"Okay."

Matty walked out and then went to his room. Slim cleaned Jess's back very carefully and then his feet gently. He put a wet cloth on Jess's face to keep the fever down and hoped that Dr. Seymour was there in Laramie. He walked out of his room and up to Matty's room and knocked on his door, which Matty soon opened.

"Come in," Matty said.

Slim walked in and saw Lucille. He hated to break her heart when she heard that her parents were murdered by Marty.

"Lucille, how did your parents die?" Slim asked.

"Wagon accident, some kind of axle broke," Lucille answered. "Why?"

Slim sighed. "Your parent's deaths were no accident. Someone tampered with the wagon's axle. Your parents were murdered," Slim said.

"Who killed them?" Lucille was afraid to ask.

"Marty Grant. He was hired by you father's former boss," Slim explained. "Your mother wasn't supposed to die. He was hired to only kill your father."

Lucille becomes very angry and said, "I'm going to Chicago to kill my father's former boss."

"You don't have to worry about him anymore."

"Why?"

"Marty killed your father's former boss when he left the newspaper," Slim said.

"Why would my father's boss want my father's dead?" Lucille asked. "Who does that?"

"Marty said he was a kind of mobster or gangster," Slim answered. "Do you need anything?"

"No, we're fine, thank you," Matty said.

"Good night, Matty and Lucille." Slim walked out of the room and went to his room to get some rest. He had to get up early in the morning to get to Laramie.

Slim unlocked his door, walked inside the room and closed the door. He looked over at Jess, still asleep. Slim sat in the chair and went to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11-Going home

One more chapter.

Part: 11-Going home.

*Back at the ranch.*

daisy has been cleaning the house ever since Slim left, fixing dinners, cleaning the dishes and washing the bed linens and clothes. Slim had been gone for awhile since Jess reportedly had been killed in a stagecoach accident and she wondered what was taking him so long to get home or just send her a telegram so she wouldn't get so worried about him. She walked out of the front door and saw Andy sitting on a rocking chair.

"Are you okay, Andy?" Daisy asked.

"I'm fine," Andy answered. "You said that Slim is in Cheyenne?"

"Yes, he is."

"What's taking him so long? Cheyenne is not far away."

"I don't know what's taking him so long to get back," Daisy said. "You don't have to go back to school, do you?"

"No, not for another month," Andy replied. "Jonesy and Mike went to get some supplies, they should be back any minute."

"Don't worry, Slim will be back before you know it and so will Jess."

Daisy walked back to the house she couldn't break Andy's heart.

*Back to Cheyenne.*

Slim woke up early the next day, and looking at his pocket watch, he saw that it was only five o'clock in the morning. He couldn't get back to sleep whatsoever, so he got up from his chair and walked over to the bed to check on Jess. He put his hand on his forehead and knew by touch that he had a fever, it wasn't that high, yet, but he hoped they could make it to Laramie to get a doctor or even Daisy, who is a fine nurse, and help him get better. He picked up his towel and walked out of the room to clean up, and as he did so, he ran into Matty and Lucille.

"What are you two doing up so early?" Slim asked.

"We couldn't sleep," Matty replied. "I could say the same thing about you."

"I want to get cleaned up early so we can make it to the stagecoach and get back to my ranch," Slim said. "Can you keep an eye on Jess?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Thanks." slim went downstairs to get cleaned up.

Matty and Lucille walked into the bedroom and saw Jess on his stomach and also saw his back that had been whipped by Marty. Jess starts to move his head, open his eyes, and sit up on the bed, looking around the room and his eyes land on Matty and Lucille.

"Matty, it that you?" Jess whispered.

"Yes, it's me, Jess," Matty said. "How are you feeling?"

"I don't feel so good." Jess looked at Lucille. "What's she doing here? It's she taking me back?!"

"No, she's not. You are going home with Slim."

"Why is she doing this?" Jess asked.

Lucille walked up to him and bent down to his level, "I'm so sorry that you're hurt. I just wanted revenge against my uncle Joe."

"I don't know your uncle. I have been living outside of Laramie for four years," Jess said. "Maybe Slim knows him."

"He says he heard of him, but he doesn't know him," Lucille explained. "I know I hurt you, but I'm so sorry."

"Can I ask you a question?" Matty asked.

"Sure, go right ahead," Jess replied.

"After I left the war prison, did Marty hurt you?" Matty asked.

"No, he was fixing too, but he didn't get a chance to," Jess explained. "We got rescued and then I went drifting."

Matty nodded, glad that Marty didn't get a chance to hurt Jess and if he had, he would have wanted to kill him. Jess went quiet when Slim walked in the room and Slim saw Jess sitting up in the bed, and how sad Jess' eyes looked, knowing that he will somehow make everything up to him. He walked up to Jess and bent down.

"How do you feel, Jess?" Slim asked.

Jess stayed quiet, not saying anything to Slim because he's very hurt by him just because he laughed at Slim for what Slim said about the horse being angry at him.

"he says he doesn't feel so good," Lucille said.

"Just as I suspected," Slim replied.

"We already saw that his back was whipped," Matty said. "Some of his skin that was whipped has a deep cut and it needs to be clean."

"I'm taking him to Laramie to see Dr. Seymour to clean his wounds up."

"Good."

Two hours later, they heard the stagecoach outside and they walked up to the window and saw Mose in front of the stage building. Slim needed to send a telegram to Sheriff Cory to let him know he's coming home with a friend.

"I got to stop Mose from leaving, but I have to send a telegram to Sheriff Cory," Slim said. "I don't know where to start first."

"I tell you what, why don't I go tell Mose to come to the hotel when he gets done and then I send the telegram to Cory," Matty explained. "You get Jess ready."

"Okay, I thought you have to keep an eye on Lucille?"

"She's not going anywhere. I gave the sheriff my word."

"Okay." Matty walked out of the room to talk to Mose and then sent a telegram to Cory to get a doctor to the ranch.

Slim put the shirt back on Jess after he cleaned his back and feet again, and before he covers him up, he heard a knock on his door. Lucille walked up the door, opened the door and saw Steve and Chad.

"Come on in," Lucille said.

They walked into the bedroom and Lucille saw the dark looks on their faces.

"What's going on?" Lucille asked as she was scared what they were going to say.

"Nothing wrong, but we are just scared that we are going to jail," Steve said.

"Don't worry, you guys are not going to jail, I am," Lucille explained. "I will explain it to the judge about what I did. I'm going to jail."

"Or he could put you guys on probations," Slim said. "I've got to go."

"I'll meet you at the stagecoach." Lucille left the room to receive Jess' boots.

Slim covered Jess with the same blanket and put the coat on his face and then picked him up and put him over his shoulder and left the bedroom. He went outside and saw the stagecoach in front of the hotel.

Mose saw Slim coming out of the hotel with the body he carried on his shoulder and thought the body he carried was dead.

"You're not putting that dead body in my coach," Mose warned.

"He's not dead, Mose, he's alive," Slim answered.

"Oh, okay."

Slim put Jess in the coach and then got in. Lucille rushed out of the hotel just as Marty show up when she came out of the hotel.

"Here's Jess's boots," Lucille said.

"Where do you find them at?" Slim asked.

"Chad and Steve found them outside of the barn," Lucille answered.

"Where's my horse?"

"Oh, I forgot," Matty said. "Wait here, Mose."

"Hurry up, we got a schedule to keep," Mose replied.

"You just take your time."

"All right."

Matty brought Slim's horse while he carried Slim's saddle, he put the saddle down on the ground and then tied the horse behind the stagecoach, and then he picked up the saddle, walked up to the door and then put the saddle inside the coach.

"I sent the telegram to Cory," Matty said. "I'll let you know if my wife and my ranch hands are found guilty or put on probation."

"Okay, I'll see you later," Slim replied. "Let's go Mose."

*Back to Sherman Ranch.*

Sheriff Cory arrived at the Sherman Ranch after he received the telegram. HE couldn't believe that Slim was finally coming home and he wondered why he was riding a stagecoach and not his horse. He was trying to figure out why, because Slim just went to Cheyenne to identify Jess's body and come home.

Daisy, Mike, Andy, and Jonesy came out of the house and saw Mort.

"Sheriff, what brings you out here?" Daisy asked.

"I got a telegram from somebody to let me know that Slim is coming home," Mort answered.

"About time he shows up," Andy said. "Did it say what time he'll be here?"

"No, I don't know what tine he'll be here," but I know he won't be here for awhile."

"What do you mean he won't be here for awhile?" Jonesy asked.

"He's riding in a stagecoach," Mort explained.

They tried to figure out why Slim would be riding the stagecoach, thinking that maybe he was too tired to ride a horse. Over an hour passed and then the stagecoach finally arrived at the relay station. Mose pulled in and stopped in front of the house and everyone came hurrying out of the house as Slim stepped off the stagecoach.

"What is darn hill took you so long?!" Cory yelled. "You were supposed to be identifying Jess's body."

Slim cringed, "Hello to you, Mort and you were not supposed to say that."

"Jess is dead?" Andy said in shock.

After Andy said that, they heard a couple of the horses neigh and they looked over at Traveler and Alamo coming out of the barn, walking up to the house.

"Now you're not mad at me," Slim looked at Traveler and Alamo with his hands on his hips and then looked at Mort and noticed Mort trying not to laugh. "Don't you ever think about laughing. Where's the doctor?"

"The doctor isn't here," Mort said.

"Don't tell me, a doctor is out of town and he won't be back in two weeks," Slim replied. "No Andy, he's not dead, he is in the stagecoach."

"How did you know about the doctor?" Mort asked.

"I tried to get a doctor in Cheyenne, but he's at a medical conference," Slim answered. "Daisy, you can help."

"Sure, bring him in." Daisy went back to the house and brought her bag into the room and pulled back the blanket on Jess' bed.

Slim handed the boots to Andy and helped Jess out of the stagecoach and carried him to the house. He walked in the room and put him on the bed. Slim removed the blanket and coat away from his body, and then he unbuttoned his shirt and took it off and then laid him down on his stomach.

Daisy saw the whip marks on his back and cuts on his feet. She told Slim to get her some water, medicine, and a towel so she can get to work. Slim walked out of the room to get all the that she asked for and then brought it to Daisy, left the room and closed the door.

Slim walked up to the table and sat down. Andy, Jonesy, and Mike sat down next to Slim. Mort came in after he took care of Slim's horse and saddle.

"I put your horse and saddle up in the barn," Mort said.

"Thanks, Mort," Slim answered.

"What's happened, Slim?" Andy asked. "And don't say I'm too young to hear this, I'm not a kid anymore."

"Okay." Slim told them the whole story about what happened to Jess, how Marty hurt Jess so badly and how he found Jess in the desert with him and he also told them about the woman and her men that kidnapped the other men, including Jess.

"You're not going to hurt Jess anymore, are you?" Andy asked.

"No, and I'll make it p to him," Slim replied. "Mort, can I asked you something?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Do you know Joe Griffith?" Slim asked.

"No, I don't know him," Mort answered. "Why?"

"No reason, I thought you knew him and I didn't know him either."

Daisy came out of the boy's room, and they got up from their seats.

"How's Jess?" Slim asked.

"He's doing fine, although he is exhausted," Daisy explained. "I put whiskey on his back, but he's dehydrated and he's also cold."

"What about his feet?"

"His feet weren't that bad. I'm sure they will heal."

"Can I go sit with him?" Slim asked.

"Sure, why are you asking me?" Daisy said. "It's your room, but do keep quiet, he needs rest."

"Okay, I won't wake him." Slim got up and went to his room and sat down in the chair.

"I'll make it up to you when you wake up, pard," Slim whispered.

He hoped that Jess would forgive him for what he did.


	12. Chapter 12-Apologize, hard time, promise

This is it. I will write more Laramie story, but I have to put on hold 'till I finish my other story that needs attention and I will write the story on sheets of paper and I'm taking my time with it to make sense and I was rushing and not stop and think.

Next morning, Slim woke up and then looked over at Jess, still asleep. He got up, put his clothes on and then left the room to eat breakfast. He walked up to the table and sat down while Daisy brought breakfast on the table. Andy, Mike, and Jonesy walked out of the other room and sat down at the table.

"Are you going to apologize to Jess?" Daisy asked.

"Yes, I'll talk to him," Slim replied.

They all looked at Slim and he looked into their eyes and he knew they wanted him to talk to him now, not later.

"All right. I'll go talk to him now before I eat breakfast." Slim got up and went to his room and he closed the door. He saw Jess trying to sit up, but his feet wouldn't let him.

"Let me help you." Slim went over to help him and left him up. Then Slim eat down on his bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Hurting." Jess said, not looking at his best friend.

"I know, but I'm sorry that I hurt you," Slim explained. "It's wasn't your fault."

Jess looked at Slim confused, "What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that was my boss's fault, not your."

"Why did you slug me for?" Jess asked. "I didn't do anything wrong to make you mad."

"I know." Slim stopped Jess from talking again. "Let me finish. You know that I was supposed to go to Denver, not you. And you were supposed to stay here to take care of the ranch."

"Yes, I know."

"Well, my boss waited for the last minute to telegram me, that was what made me mad," Slim said.

"Can you do me a favor next time?" Jess asked.

"Sure and you know I will," Slim replied.

"Hit your boss next time."

"I almost did."

"Why didn't you?" Jess almost yelled.

"He would have fired me and we both would be out of job," Slim said. "You know I really am sorry."

"I forgive you." Jess said, but he had a plan to make Slim feel guilty and he will give him a hard time.

"Good." Slim doesn't like the way Jess says that so quickly, he knew Jess had a plan but didn't know what. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, but I can't walk to the table."

"Okay." Slim picked Jess up by the arm and walked out of the bedroom, walked up to the table and then sat down on the chair next to Mike, Andy, and Jonesy. Daisy brought more foods and saw Jess at the table.

"Jess Harper!" Daisy yelled. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"I feel better." Jess looked at Daisy with sad eyes.

"All right."

They eat their food and then Daisy told Jess to get back to bed. Slim helped Jess get up and put him to bed.

After five days, Jess's feet and back finally healed and he feels so much better. He walked outside and he pretended to moping around, feeling sad that Slim hurt him so much, even though he already forgave him, but he wants Slim to forgive himself.

Slim rode in after he finished talking to Cory in Laramie and saw Jess brushing his horse and then Slim's horse.

"I got a telegram from Matty, Jess." Slim got down from his horse and walked over to Jess.

"What did he say?" Jess asked.

"I don't know, let me see." Slim opened the envelope and read it to Jess, "The judge put my wife, Steve, and Chad on probation for two years and we may drop by your ranch to see how Jess is doing and then head on home."

"Okay." Jess kept on brushing.

Slim was confused, "That's all you can say, okay?"

"Yes. What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing." Slim walked towards the house.

Jess got a smirk on his face, his plan 'A' working and now he could start working on plan 'B'. He walked towards the house and went inside.

Next morning, Jess went outside to get cleaned up so he could take Daisy and Mike to town to get some supplies and he knew Slim would ask him t help him to fix the fences before the animals stated to stray.

Slim walked outside and saw Jess getting cleaned up beside the house and walked up to him.

"Are you ready, Jess?" Slim asked.

"Ready for what?" Jess innocent.

"To help me work on the fence."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I promised Daisy to take her and Mike to town to get some supplies. Some other time."

"All right." Slim walked away to get the wagon ready.

Jess got another smirk on his face, he knows he being rotten and he also knows that Slim still felt guilty about hitting him. He already told him that he forgave him. Slim put the wire in the wagon, got in it and left.

Daisy came out of the house and walked up to Jess, "Shouldn't you be helping Slim with the fences?"

"Yes."

"Why aren't you?"

"Because I told Slim I'm taking you and Mike to town to get some supplies."

"We don't need anything, Jonesy and Mike took care of it last week."

"I know that and Slim doesn't know that. I just want him to forgive himself."

"Oh." Daisy said nothing after that. She went back to the house to make lunch.

Jess went on brushing to get the horses ready for the stage. A few hours later, Slim rode into the ranch after he was done with the fences. He stepped down from the wagon and went up to Jess and Slim looked around the yard.

"Where are the supplies?" Slim asked.

"Oh, we didn't go," Jess answered. "Daisy told me that Mike and Jonesy took care of it last week."

Slim looked at Jess and he notices that he's wearing a nice suit, "Why are you wearing a good suit? Are you going somewhere?"

"Yes. I'm going out on a date."

"I thought you were going to help me change of horses."

"In this suit? I just got cleaned up," Jess said. "I already got the horses ready and all you have to do is exchange the horses for the stage. I got a date tonight."

"That's it! You miserable no good saddle tramp!" Slim yelled.

"Finally, you broke down," Jess said. "I was about to run out of ideas. I already forgave you, Slim and you need to forgive yourself."

"What? You?" Slim was confused and then looked around and saw Jess slipped away from him. "Why you."

Slim ran after him as soon as Jess ran away and disappeared behind the house just in time that the stagecoach pulled in from Cheyenne. Daisy, Jonesy, and the kids came out of the house. Matty, Lucille, Steve, and Chad stepped down from the coach.

"Hello, ma'am." Matty tipped his hat. "I'm Matty, this is my wife, Lucille and my ranch hands, Steve and Chad."

"Hi, I'm Daisy, this is Jonesy, Mike, and Andy, Slim's little brother," Daisy explained. "What can I do for you?"

"It Slim around?" Matty asked.

"Yes, he is," Daisy replied. "He's in the barn."

"I'll go get him, Aunt Daisy!" Mike ran to the barn, but couldn't find Slim or Jess in the barn and ran back to Daisy.

"Aunt Daisy, I can't find Slim or Jess."

"Oh dear." Daisy put her hand on her lips. "Where could they be?"

"Who knows with those boys. I better go exchange the horses," Jonesy answered. "Come on, Andy."

Before they exchanged the horses, they heard someone yelling.

"Put me down!" Jess yelled.

"I'm not going to put you down for what you put me through." Slim walked past the stagecoach. "Hi, guys."

"Where is he taking him?" Matty asked.

"Oh, he's taking him to the water trough," Daisy replied.

They saw Slim drop Jess in the water trough and then Slim walked away and walked up to Matty.

"Hey, Matty," Slim said.

"Hi Slim," Matty replied. "What did you do that for?"

"Because he pulled a prank on me."

"Oh, okay."

Jess got out of the water trough and walked up to Slim, and pretended to be mad at Slim.

"What's the big deal!" Jess yelled as he gave Slim a look.

"You deserved it and you look like a drowned rat."

Jess turned around and saw Matty, his wife and his ranch hands.

"Hi, Matty. What are you guys doing here?" Jess asked.

"We wanted to check on you before we head home," Matty replied. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm doing fine."

"Slim is right, you do look like a drowned rat. Slim, will you promise me something?" Matty asked.

"Sure."

"Don't you ever hit or slug him ever again," Matty warned him. "Just protect him, that's what he needs, he's been hurt too many times."

"Okay, I promise that I won't hit him again," Slim said.

"Good."

Lucille walked up to Jess, "You know that I'm sorry that I kidnapped you and hurt you."

"That's okay. I forgive you all," Jess replied.

"Let's go honey." Lucille walked back to her husband.

"See you." Steve and Chad got back on the stagecoach and Matty helped Lucille in the stagecoach and the Matty got in it. Mose left the ranch to head towards Denver, Colorado.

Slim put his arm around Jess's shoulder," I promise I won't slug you again."

"Okay."

They walked back inside the house and enjoy their lunch after Jess changed his clothes.

The end.


End file.
